Big Idea:
Smart Board technology will assist students with metric system conversions.

Begin class by giving students a metric conversion problem to solve. This is taken from the course 1 Holt mathematics book:

During the 2005 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong was the stage winner from Tours to Blois, which has a distance of 67.5 km. How many meters is this? Allow students to use their own strategy to solve this problem.(SMP 1 and 5) Before discussing as a whole group, have students share with their tablemates how they solved the problem (SMP 3). Remind students to listen while being spoken to and to not interrupt. Coaching will be allowed after everyone has had a chance to share. Once all group members have shared their strategy and answer, allow time for coaching.

Resources (1)

Resources

Have students answer the following question and explain in words how they arrived at their answer:

Alyssa, Terri, and Katie used a metric scale to weigh some rocks they collected on their walk. The masses of the rocks were 29 g, 52 g, 18 g, 103 g, 154 g, and 96 g. What was the combined mass of the rocks in kilograms? In milligrams? What is the difference in kilograms between the heaviest and lightest rocks?

Big Idea:
Ben’s mom gives him the option of grooming 3 horses or mowing 2 fields. Which job should Ben choose? Why? Students use their knowledge of algebraic expressions and equations to write expressions and equations.